BBQ: Okay so if upon arriving at a Donkey BBQ someone says that it smells like ass, is that a good thing or a bad thing? And another question is would red wine or white wine go better with BBQ donkey? Also how heavily should an event like this be publicized? We wouldn't want to deal with angry PETA fanatics... or would we?

dilbert wrote:sandman: The BLM should just shoot the damn things and donate the meat to local schools. Have the cafeterias throughout the area cook up some BBQ donkey and horse burgers. I'm sure the kids will love them!

Yeah, I'm sure the kids will enjoy eating Burro Burgers and Jackass Stew. As a practical solution to several problems it makes a lot of sense, but many people would consider it socially unacceptable to eat donkeys and so it's an innovative idea that will never see the light of day.

CactusHugger: A relevant difference that should not go unmentioned is that while people go to great lengths to AVOID venomous spiders and snakes, they actually climb on top of horses. If humans avoided horses the way they avoid the poisonous critters, then deaths by horse would be extremely rare. So, that doesn't make horses nearly as dangerous as the spiders and snakes, it's just that there's more opportunity for accidents with horses.

How Feral Donkeys Saved a Lost Hiker’s Life in Death Valley Interesting story and interesting info:

The pack animals, which were brought to the United States by Spaniards in the 1500s, have been called “an invasive species” in places like Texas, where they take over watering holes, contaminate wildlife and crowd out other animals.

and this...

In national parks ... wild burros are “equina non grata” — they’ve even been the target of a “zero burros goal” in Death Valley National Park.

The Burro WhispererDeath Valley park officials consider wild burros a scourge. To activists like Diana Chontos, the misunderstood creatures embody the soul of the WestThis lady runs a donkey sanctuary near Olancha called Wild Burro Rescue. For financial reasons the park service decided to work with another group called Peaceful Valley Donkey Rescue in its efforts to eliminate donkeys from the park. [Peaceful Valley will pay for the entire endeavor, whereas Wild Burro Rescue would require some financial support from the park service.]

Peaceful Valley plans to use the water trapping method to capture all of the wild burros in Death Valley (a number estimated at 600 to 4,000, depending on who you talk to). Burros will then be domesticated and offered for adoption all over the country, from Connecticut to Washington. Any burros that can’t be domesticated will live out their lives in sanctuaries in Texas or Louisiana.